


Sorrento

by jjjenc



Category: Real Person Fiction
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-09
Updated: 2014-05-09
Packaged: 2018-01-24 01:56:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1587422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjjenc/pseuds/jjjenc





	Sorrento

* * *

Chapter Two

* * *

I wonder how many people live in Sorrento.

Odd question to ask, but it is the only thing that I can think of to entertain myself. I see why no one would want to know the population of a tourist attraction. Sorrento is beautiful, by far the most sublime city I have visited. Someday, maybe, hopefully, I might move here. There is no doubt that I will want to move out of bipolar England anyway. I’d trade the clouds and rain for sun and blistering heat any day.

In the front mirror of his car, I see Peppe laughing and I hear Jen laughing too. I’m unclear about what they are saying but at least Jen looks less stressed. It’s comforting to know that people around me are smiling rather than complaining about the weather or girls or boys. Frustrating really, but I’ve learnt to get used to it.

The car stops at a car park, though most of the vehicles occupying the spaces are mopeds. There is a group of boys congregated around a bench nearby and Peppe peers his head out of his window and shouts out a name.

“Luigi!” he shouts and a boy with large ears jerks his head. “Fratto, voglio farti conoscere queste ragazze inglesi.”

And Luigi dashes towards us. Although my memory is indistinct his face seems conversant somehow. His figure becomes larger and before I know it he is leaning over Peppe’s window, scanning Jen and I with a calculating look.

“Ciao,” Jen says with a smile. Luigi smirks and bows his head. “Ciao bella,” he replies before he turns his attention on me. “My name is Luigi.” And I awkwardly answer, “Hi.” “Your name?” he asks.

I reply, “Alicia.”

“Ah, you are bellissima,” he says with a smirk and I feel my tongue rolling on my words even though my mind is already forming the next sentence.

Peppe chortles and smacks his friend with the back of his hand. He mumbles, “Idiota,” before opening the door.

The two are laughing at each other and shouting things in Italian as Jen hops out the car, I follow behind but push her away. She is looking at me funny, like I have killed her cat. But she knows that I am just shy.

“What?” she asks, a worried expression evident in her face.

The wind blows our hair in our faces so we both pull it back behind our ear. All I could think about then was Kekko and his touch. The way his skin set my thoughts ablaze and his gentle approach sends a stinging sensation curving up and down my body. I know I cannot think of him like that, he is just an employee of the hotel I am staying at, nothing more.

“You said we were going to the beach,” I say.

She nods. “Yes and here we are, at the beach.”

“Yes but who are these people? Wait let me make that more specific, who are these 18 year old boys?”

She snorts and punches my shoulder lightly. “Relax, it’s just Peppe’s friends. I’m sure they’re harmless and I’m sure most of them have girlfriends anyway.”

“I swear to God if they try anything I’m going to sue.”

She laughs at me again.

“Who was the one who wanted to meet Italian boys? You. So suck it up Leech because you have a buffet of Italians waiting for you over there.” Jen nods her head in the direction of Peppe’s friends, who are approaching him and Luigi.

They seem to notice us and start muttering among themselves instantly. I get hasty every time I see someone do that. I get paranoid and I wonder immediately if they hate me. I really should stop that. It is bad for me.

“Jen!” Peppe shouts. “Are you coming?”

“Yes, one minute,” Jen yells back. “I’m not going unless you go.”

“I…I don’t know Jen I…” She grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly, her smile reassuring as always. “I promise you they’re harmless. You never know you might meet the person you’re going to marry in Italy.” She shrugs before walking away to meet up with Peppe.

Her words echo through my thoughts, maybe she is right. I should let loose and just enjoy that I’m back in Sorrento. Why spoil it for myself? I decide to run after her as Peppe leads us towards the beach with his friends.

 

* * *

 

After an hour at the beach, I come to the conclusion that Jen is a psychic. Peppe’s friends are harmless – just like she said. They only wanted to befriend British girls to make their summer a little more thought-provoking. That’s what Stefano said anyway.

Stefano is smaller than Peppe, maybe a little slimmer too. They all have the same type of hairstyle: quiffs and that bugs me a lot but I choose to ignore it since they all look half decent with it compared to boys from England. His nose is a lot straighter, almost pecking the rims of a classic nose but he always smiles and it seems like he has taken too much weed. But then again, he looks better than most boys from home after smoking a little essence.

I see Stefano dawdle over to me as I pull my sunglasses off. He sits himself beside me, elbows resting against his bony knees. I wonder if he eaten anything the past few days but I dare not ask him. The wind is blowing the sand lightly and Jen is squealing as Nello kicks the water at her.

“You had enough?” I ask Stefano.

“Of what?” he replies back. “The water?” I nod my head. “Ah no. I can never get tired of Sorrento, is my home. What about you?” he turns his head to me and I see him eyeing me down so I copy his sitting position.

“What about me?”

“You get tired of England, no?”

“Yes. All the time.”

He chuckles as we both look out at the smiling, sapphire marine in front of us. “Why? Is your home no?”

“Yes it is. Everyone is tiring to get along with.” I playfully nudge him with my elbow. “You Italians are so much fun to be around.”

Stefano laughs at me and I speculate why but I choose to push the brooding question out. Pretending to understand what he was sniggering at is like trying to study Chinese in a day. He stands up and dusts off the sand on his khaki-coloured shorts. He lends out his hand to me.

“Come on, I show you something.” I laugh nervously, even though I know I must stay with Jen, I desperately want to go along with him.

Nothing bad could happen. Could it?

“What?” I question.

“I take you to the Castellano’s home, they have beautiful view of Sorrento coast.”

Reluctantly, I slide my hand into his as he wrenches me up. His arms are strong and rigid. I know that if he tries something with me, I will not be able to escape. His grip is resilient, inescapable. But I still trust him somehow. So I keep hold of his hand because I know that even though we are strangers at least I can trust him to keep me safe. I look back and I realize Jen and Peppe and Luigi and Nello and Gianluca are all becoming distinct. Inaudible, smaller. I couldn't believe it myself that I had to pinch my own leg to see if it was real. It was. I was holding an Italian boy's hand, Stefano's hand, as he takes me to his friend's house. Who knows what could happen from there. I am both petrified but ecstatic. Maybe Peppe's parents are home, or Ketty is there.

Maybe.

I hope they are.

Stefano chaperones me back to the car park jam-packed with mopeds. Everything is soundless and I notice a minor group of lads my age meander past auspiciously.

The towering one hooks Stefano’s gawk as he yells, “Vincenzo! Fratto!”

_Vincenzo_ clutches his friends’ courtesy; there is a boy more petite than him with dark glasses balancing on the tip of his nose, his hands recessed into the pockets of his jacket. He nods and it looks as if he is telling his other friends about Stefano. Or me. Either way they all meet us in accord.

“Vincenzo…” the one with sunglasses says but he rumours the rest of his sentence into Vincenzo’s ear. I sense they are speaking about me considering Vincenzo’s eyes keep plastering against mine. “Si?”

“Ah, last year?” Vincenzo says and his friend nods.

And then and there a few more Italian conversations later someone starts speaking English.

“You come Sorrento last year, yes?” Vincenzo’s friend abruptly inquires. I am taken aback by the impulsive question as I feel slightly sequestered by them all for a minute.

“Um, yes?” I say cumbersomely, my cheeks flaring up with a rubicund dimness.

“You have friend here, yes? Jen?” he asks. “Dark hair and brown eyes?”

“Yes, how did you –”

“Bello!” he says buoyantly. “Where is she? I’m Riccardo, you remember me?”

I quiver my head, muddled and a little misplaced as to where he was going with this conversation.

“I don’t remember anyone, sorry.”

“Ah, it’s fine. Don’t worry.” Vincenzo drones a little and Riccardo agrees jubilantly. “You are Alicia?” I manage to say yes then he smiles. “Ciao bella, you go Alessio’s with Stefano?”

“Alessio?”

“Our friend, Peppe’s frattelino,” Riccardo says.

“No, Riccardo, younger brother,” Stefano re-phrases.

And Riccardo approves irrefutably. “Ah okay. Alessio, he is younger brother of Peppe.”

I nod my head though I hardly comprehend. I don’t exactly know how to respond. Whoever Alessio is, he isn’t nipping up in my mind anywhere but I figure if he is Peppe’s brother then he must look slightly like him, right?

“You and Stefano…” Vincenzo starts.

And Riccardo polishes his friend’s sentence with, “You kiss him?”

Stefano groans. “Ah, come on. Riccardo is an idiot.” He takes my hand again and we tread off promptly without saying goodbye. I can perceive them all snickering but I find myself laughing along with them. I am sure they aren’t being sombre.

Stefano halts and then so do I. He frees my hand and hurdles into a moped which I presume is his. I doubt he would steal one just for me nonetheless. He rattles the engine to life and in advance he takes the helmet dangling from the handle and displays it to me.

“I thought Peppe’s house was close by,” I remind him.

I take the helmet sheepishly.

“Yes, down there.” He points to the everlasting highway in front of him. “I take you to Castellano’s, nowhere else. I promise.” Even his coffee-tinted eyes are gleaming a promising lustre.

My mind is blaring no but my tongue blunders out an, “Okay.” and before I know it, I am fitting on the helmet with a little brawl.

Stefano slides his helmet on glibly and I know then that this moped is his property. He stares at me before he leers. “You want help?” he asks liberally.

I make a flippant pout and nod my head in cynical conquest. “Yes please.”

Stefano chuckles as he hides my hair behind my ear, his fingertips skim my cheek like feathers falling classily in the wind. I contemplate about Kekko for a second time and I cannot help but sneer at the thought of him carved seamlessly into my mind. Stefano lightly glides the helmet on and fastens it in securely. “Better?” he asks me and I nod. “Here.” He offers me his hand, gesturing for me to assemble behind him thus I hop in effortlessly and slickly. He pauses for a moment then grasps both my hands, enfolding them around his lean waist. He rotates his head to meet my gaze and he says, “Hold tight.”

After he rumbles the engine the vehicle starts to travel and I feel myself getting pressed back by the breeze so I intertwine my fingers together to keep myself unwavering. I peer from behind his shoulder and I can see multiple cars drive by and all I can think about is how I could never do this in England. Maybe I would be able to do it somewhere in the countryside but from where I live, I would get arrested. And in that moment, I could not feel a single worry bleed into my head, everything was gone, vanished like dust. I feel so alive and exultant that I don’t ever want to go home.

 

* * *

 

**JEN**

“Ingannare!” Nello yells teasingly.

I make a playful surprised face and he laughs as we both try to catch our breaths.

“I win, you owe me a drink,” I tell him with a smirk and he shakes his head with an acrimonious expression. “What?! Why?!”

“You cheat,” he says sloping against his knees. “Unfair! Again.”

“Again?” I reiterate, skimming up my sunglasses to lure in the warmth beaming down on me.

Nello nods his head and so I come to an agreement. After, he says, “Luca! Again!” And Gianluca signals us a thumbs up from the other side of the beach.

We playfully position ourselves to prepare to race each other. Peppe’s other friends are sitting on the sand watching us, cheering my name for motivation.

I see Luca throw 3 fingers in the air as Nello mutters, “Tre…due…” Nevertheless, I cheat yet again and begin to sprint before “uno” slithers out the cracks of his reedy lips. Nello yells, “Ingannare!” once again as Peppe’s friends continue to cheer me on.

I sprint, compelling my legs to propel quicker. Even though my hair is damp and it’s slashing my back endlessly, I don’t care. This is the most amusing fun I have had in a long time. But a question ponders in my mind and I wonder where Alicia is. I saw her walking, hand-in-hand, with Stefano earlier. Perhaps she pulled. I try to push the thought out of my mind, I should stop worrying about her, I’m sure she can take care of herself. I shouldn’t stop her from having fun because I want her to be safe.

Luca is getting nearer to me, I see him throw his hand up so I high five it and wait for Nello to arrive. I am out of breath now but I see that Nello is not far behind. With a smile I notice he isn’t slowing down and I can tell he is going straight for me. With a squeal I run but my legs are suddenly lifted and I feel my weight become lighter. I recognise Nello’s navy-blue shorts and notice that Peppe and his friends are upside down so I figure that I must be too.

“Nello!” I scream piercingly and I can feel him running towards the marine as the waves osculating the sand becomes gaudier.

I am about to scream his name once more when I am thrown into the water with force, my ears are drowned with the nonchalant sea and I blink my eyes open to find myself underwater. I make a devious move and search for Nello’s legs which are close by and I grab his shorts, yanking them down swiftly. I might have caught him by surprise because he falls back into the water which gives me chance to slip his shorts from his legs.

As I lift myself from the surface I swivel to face Peppe and his friends before I display Nello’s pouring-wet shorts to them. I hear Luigi guffaw and a harmony of laughter erupts. I quickly exit the sea running towards Luca before another chorus of laughter erupts. I rotate to witness a stripped Nello casing his torso with his hands as he splashes out of the water.

“Merda!” he yells as he runs after me to collect his shorts. “Darli a me!” he pleads and I sympathetically launch them at him. It must have been a minute that he has chases me because I do not recognise the new group of boys talking with Luigi.

“Luca! Bring the English!” Luigi shouts and Luca and I exchange looks for a moment before I follow him submissively.

The figures of the boys become indistinct by the second and I cuss to myself that I recognise them from last year. Vincenzo at least, and Salvatore, Marco and Massi from the pictures that Alicia and I used to show each other. I see Salvatore has somehow lost a little weight as he looks slimmer in real life. I put my shades back on immediately when I notice the uncanny face staring back at me. Why is he here? How does he know I’m here? Can he leave?

“What’s going on?” I ask, trying to surpass the awkward tension between him and me. “Peppe?”

“You remember Alessio, yes?” he says and I nod to tell him yes. “My brother’s friends…”

“Vincenzo, I know,” I butt in rapidly. “Correct me if I’m wrong, you’re Salvatore?” I ask and Peppe answers yes. “Massi and Marco? Yes?” I mock and they all smile to signal a yes.

“And me?” I wish he can see the foul scowl I give him.

“Riccardo, yes I know,” I reply in a monotone but he does not seem fazed by my disinterest in him. “Um, Peppe, I need to go get Alicia.”

“Sure, no worries,” he answers, elevating up, wiping the sand off himself. “We take Francesco’s scooter to my house. Stefano is there with Alicia.”

I nod agreeably and before I know it Riccardo is out of my sight. I’m somehow pleased that he’s out of my view for now but a little inconsolable that I did that deliberately. Of course I missed him, I just don’t think he showed up at the right time. With a displeased mood I carefully hop on behind Peppe but he looks back at me with a concerned look.

“What?” I say.

“Is everything okay? You don’t look happy,” he says.

I force out the weakest smile as I strap on my helmet. “No, I’m fine.”

“Is it Riccardo? I see you get angry when you speak about him.”

My head throbs, his name sends blood burning and I can feel myself loathing him more than I should. I breathe in a deep breath before sighing it out.

“No it isn’t Riccardo. I just want to be with Alicia.”

Peppe’s head lowers and he turns around. He mumbles, “Mi dispiace,” under his breath though I can hear him thoroughly. I choose not to make a scene and ignore his remark as he starts to rev the engine to life. 

 

* * *

 

**ALICIA**

There is rustling around me. Someone is opening a door and I can hear people laughing outside. But that laugh is so acquainted, it sounds like someone I know. It sounds like Jen is laughing outside. Though I don’t have a mere clue where I am. Thus, I flutter my eyes open only to find my surroundings have rotated. There is a TV close by but it is slanted. Nothing seems right until I grunt myself up. I rub my eyes and find myself inside a marbled domicile with a fan blowing my hair in front of me. I stand up and stretch my body out while making unnecessary sounds along the way. I see a transparent door to my right and I peek outside to find Jen sitting comfortably on Stefano’s lap, Ketty is there too but she is resting her feet on Peppe. There is another boy, I don’t know who he is but he appears like a miniscule description of Peppe and I swear to God that this must be Alessio. Golden brown skin, bright cobalt blue eyes, and dark-auburn hair gelled into a high quiff. This is definitely Peppe’s younger brother, I’m sure of it.

“Alicia!” Jen shouts and I wave.

I see her erecting up from Stefano as she drags the younger Peppe along with her.

“When did you come here? Where are we exactly?” I ask, completely oblivious to younger Peppe’s presence.

“Stefano said you fell asleep when he was taking you to the Castellano’s house. He also said that you were asleep for an hour,” she paused to take a breath. “And we arrived like 20 minutes ago.”

“Oh.”

“This is Alessio by the way.”

My eyes glance over to see that he smiles at me. For a moment I swear I can feel my bones tremble. I want to seize the moment there and then that Alessio had accredited my presence and valued that I didn’t want to be fondled with like a lost kid. But we’re living in an era where capturing moments using our phones is more important than actually living these moments with whoever is beside us. And it wasn’t the fact that he made my knees go weak, it was a certain look on his face that made him question where he stood on Earth. And that, that was enough to let me know how empty he must’ve been feeling. There was a certain impression in his eyes that was confused by everything. I, too, was confused as to whether I wanted to shake his hand or kiss him.

But then he says, “Hi.” And my lips quiver with unevenness I can feel the whole world whirl 27 times.

I swore I would never let myself feel whole again but there is just one person to make you question that oath for the second time. And yet I didn’t know him, I know then when his voice escaped his lips that I will be falling in love with the devil. But I don’t care if I fall in love with the devil, as long as that devil will love me the way he loves hell.


End file.
